In-Pool Features & Water Features - So Many to Choose From!

The days of a rectangle or kidney shaped pool with 3-step entries and a ladder exit in the deep end are long gone.  Welcome to the world of Custom Pool Design and Building, where you can add as few or as many features to your pool as you want!  From waterfalls to vanishing edges, and bubblers to custom concrete water bowls, if you can dream it, it can be built!

In our 40+ years of experience, we've seen and built more pool features than we can even recall.  Here are just a few options there are out there:

• Bubblers:  Bubblers provide a “fountain” effect in your pool with soft, bubbly streams of water created by setting “jets” in benches or tanning shelves.  The fittings for bubblers come in a variety of colors so that they blend almost seamlessly with the color of your interior finish.  These are one of the most cost-effective water features that can be added to your project.  For extra aesthetics, they are also available with color-changing LED lights, for night-time fun. 
• Beach Entry: Gradually sloped entrance from the deck into the water.  There are generally no steps to climb down from a beach entry to get to the floor of the pool.
• Weeping Walls: Gentle water trickling down over natural rocks, ledgestone or stacked travertine placed on raised walls, creating a serene ambiance.
• Sheer Descents: Smooth, linear curtains of water often mounted overhead or inside of raised walls, creating a flat line of arched water flowing into the pool.
• Scuppers: Decorative water features that protrude from a raised wall and drain into the pool, often made of natural stone or stainless steel. Some have ornate designs, but these come in an array of different varieties.
• Pencil Jets: Arching streams that create a thin “line” of water flowing into the pool.  These are generally set in the waterline tile, just below the coping.
• Tanning Shelf (Sun Shelf): Large, shallow area built into the pool for lounging and sunbathing, often with a water depth of about 7 inches. 
• Jump Rocks: Large, flat rock positioned on top of the beam of the pool especially mounted for safe jumping into the water.  These are generally seen on pools with other natural stone (such as limestone or moss rock) features.
• Vanishing Edges: A pool with a visual effect that makes the water seem to disappear into the horizon (also known as an infinity edge). The coping and deck are removed, allowing the water to flow over the edge and into a catch basin where a pump is used to recirculate it back into the pool.
• Waterfall: Waterfalls are created by pouring a concrete pad (for stability) and stacking large natural boulders (such as moss rock or limestone) and mortaring them together for water to cascade over into the pool.  These can also be built using faux rocks.
• Water Slides: Slides can be built into waterfalls using gunite and a special sealant for an aesthetically pleasing, natural looking structure.  They can also be stand-alone (usualy made of fiberglass) and mounted on the pool decking.  Water flows down these slides, providing hours of fun for the kiddos as well as for adults!
• Grottos: Swim-in caves that are usually set inside of waterfalls with benches and lighting for a secluded seating area behind a curtain of water.
• In-Pool Step Pads: These are usually set on top of a shallow water area such as a tanning shelf and provide a walking path across the top of the water.
• Swim-Up Bar: Features a raised countertop that is created by extending the coping further outside of the beam on one or both sides of your pool.  These typically connect with an outdoor kitchen and usually include built-in underwater barstools for seating.  The ultimate addition to turn your backyard into a resort-style retreat.
• In-Pool Tables: Typically made of gunite and tied securely into the floor of the pool, these provide a unique gathering spot where swimmers can lounge, enjoy drinks or dine without ever leaving the water.  The tabletop is generally made of a solid slab of granite but can also be made of gunite with a tile finish.  The top of the table should sit just about the waterline of your pool.
• In-Pool Bar Stools: Build-in seating features that are submerged below the water’s surface, typically positioned at the edge of a swim-up bar, ledge or table. These are finished with the same plaster or pebble surface so that they seamlessly match the interior finish of the rest of the pool. 
• Toe Tile: One or two rows of 1” x 1” ceramic or glass tile set into the plaster or pebble interior finish surface of the pool to mark the edges of steps and benches.  These can also be laid in patterns such as diamonds.
• Swim Lanes: 6” x 6” ceramic tile is used on the floor of the pool, set into the plaster or pebble interior finish surface in a straight line down the length of the pool.
• Lazy Rivers: A flowing channel that circles the pool, powered by special pumps to create a steady current of water.
• Fire/Water Bowls: Decorative concrete bowls with a fire ring set inside and a metal scupper used for water to cascade from into the pool that are set on top of the coping, usually on a raised wall or column.  These come in multiple different colors, shapes and sizes.  There are also bowls available that have fire only, or water only.
• Spa Spillovers: These are on elevated spas and provide an area for water to flow from the spa down into the pool.  There are many variations of this, including standard open spillways (a simple gap in the spa wall where water flows into the pool), stacked stone, vanishing edges, sloped tile spillways, rock spillways and slotted spillways (narrow, linear slots in the wall of the spa, below the coping).
• Rain Curtains / Rain Walls: These linear fixtures are narrow and are set from a beam or overhead structure and mimic a curtain of rain falling into the pool.

With so many different options, how will you decide which ones to add to your pool?  Why not let us design a pool with ALL of them to save the hassel of having to decide?